They are all part of the secret life of echidnas: a live-bearing reptile and an egg-laying mammal!

Dr. Peggy Rismiller from the Kangaroo Island Pelican Lagoon Research Centre is one of the worlds leading experts on echidnas.

Author of “The Echidna: Australia’s Enigma”, Peggy will be presenting an evening on the secret life of echidnas at the Mt Pleasant Natural Resource Centre on Tuesday, July 18th.

Peggy has spent nearly the last 20 years peering under bushes, hiding behind trees and roaming the woodlands, shrublands, swamps and coasts of Kangaroo Island in search of the elusive echidna, and has initiated the first life study of short-beaked echidnas from egg to adult.

The evening will start with a road kill echidna dissection and Peggy will talk about her genetic research using the echidna palate as a unique feature equivalent to the human finger print.

Peggy will also talk about how to care for puggles (baby echidnas!), the role of echidnas as cultivators and gardeners and new research findings into echidna home ranges and movements.

For more information and bookings, contact the Mt Pleasant Natural Resource Centre on 8568 1907 or mpnrc@bigpond.com.